


Two Roads Diverged

by tuesday



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Canon Relationships, Eddie Brock and Anne Weying Still Break Up, F/M, Gen, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-10 01:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16460558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tuesday/pseuds/tuesday
Summary: Two universes, the same up to this point:In one, Eddie Brock woke in the middle of the night.  It was dark.  Anne's hair was spread across her pillow and gleamed in the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through their bedroom window.  He was thirsty.  He had an interview in the morning.  He was troubled and knew he was onto something.  Gently, careful not to wake the woman he loved, he extricated himself from the covers and climbed out of bed.In the other, Eddie Brock woke in the middle of the night.  It was dark.  Anne's hair was spread across her pillow and gleamed in the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through their bedroom window.  He was thirsty.  He had an interview in the morning.  He was troubled and knew he was onto something.  Letting out a soft sigh, Eddie rolled over and went back to sleep.





	Two Roads Diverged

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how I feel about this one, as it's basically just sketching out the backstory to a fic idea I'm not sure I'm going to finish (essentially: it's an alien invasion, and Eddie and Venom still find one another), but it is a complete and somewhat coherent fic that can stand on its own, so here I am, posting it. I haven't had the chance to see Venom a third time and don't know if I will until it comes out on DVD, so please forgive any and all misquotes and mistakes. Even watching it in the theater the second time to take notes, Romantic Is Just Another Word for Loser ended up with at least one big continuity error, so I'm sure this will have a ton of them.
> 
> I didn't tag for it, but as far as I'm concerned, of these two universes, Eddie/Venom is definitely a thing in the first.
> 
> Also, while I have at least ten more fic ideas (at varying levels of "I think this will pan out"), if there are any tropes or very, very general fic ideas you'd like to see me tackle for Eddie/Venom (think "kid fic" or "more soulmate AUs" over a full outline), there is a non-zero chance I might write it if you leave it in the comments.

Two universes, the same up to this point:

In one, Eddie Brock woke in the middle of the night. It was dark. Anne's hair was spread across her pillow and gleamed in the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through their bedroom window. He was thirsty. He had an interview in the morning. He was troubled and knew he was onto something. Gently, careful not to wake the woman he loved, he extricated himself from the covers and climbed out of bed.

In the other, Eddie Brock woke in the middle of the night. It was dark. Anne's hair was spread across her pillow and gleamed in the dim glow of the streetlights filtering through their bedroom window. He was thirsty. He had an interview in the morning. He was troubled and knew he was onto something. Letting out a soft sigh, Eddie rolled over and went back to sleep.

—

In the first, Eddie did the interview. 

He confronted a man he knew to be corrupt over deaths he knew to be beyond suspicious. The interview was canceled, Eddie was thrown out of the building, and Carlton Drake ruined Eddie's life where Eddie hadn't wrecked it himself.

In the second, Eddie did the interview. 

He didn't have any proof. He asked about unsubstantiated allegations, and Drake brushed them off as internet rumors and fake news. They circled back to the rocket, to Drake's space program. Drake smiled boyishly, brightly, like he had nothing to hide. It was a puff piece. 

Eddie and Drake shook hands, and when they were done, security let Eddie out of the building, seemingly no hard feelings about the one question that had gone off-script—but Eddie knew there was something off, something wrong. 

—

Here, they re-converged:

"I can't trust you, Eddie."

Here, they diverged again:

In one, his boss turned to look out the window and face the Bay as he said, "You're fired."

In the other, his boss stared directly at Eddie, lips thin, expression unamused, as he said, "You're on real thin ice."

—

In the first, he met Anne in front of her office, and she gave him back the ring. Her voice was quiet, betrayed, as she said, "You used me, Eddie."

In the second, they met at home. Her eyes were narrowed as she asked him, "What the hell happened at that interview?"

"Nothing," Eddie said. "I asked one question that didn't come straight from the script, and it didn't even go anywhere."

Anne pressed her lips together. It was obvious she could tell it was a little more than an innocent off-script question, but also that it shouldn't have warranted more than a few ruffled feathers. 

"I'm under review at work." She shook her head at Eddie's aghast expression, an attempt to stave off any incoming guilt spiral. "It's not your fault. And even if it were— _which it’s not_ —I knew how you were when I agreed—" Her voice broke. She clearly didn't think it was Eddie's fault, but she was still upset.

"I'm sorry." Eddie wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She let him. "I didn't think—"

Anne snorted. "You? Think?"

Eddie smiled, self-deprecating and raw. "You knew that when you agreed to marry me."

"I did," Annie confirmed. They were quiet, wrapped up in each other's arms. She put her head on his shoulder. She said what they were both thinking: "I think—there's something wrong."

"I know." Eddie smile was wry, this time. "I don't suppose you want to let me take a look at those deposition files?"

Anne laughed and pushed at his shoulder. "Not on your life. I have my integrity, and attorney-client privilege is sacred."

—

In both:

The Life Foundation settled. The deaths were swept under the rug to join their fellows. Carlton Drake made no changes to how he operated except for the worse. Dora Skirth watched a man tear himself apart inside and had a change in heart. She'd never wanted to go to human trials so soon, and this was wrong. This was very, very wrong.

—

In the first, it was common knowledge around the Foundation that Eddie Brock, investigative reporter possessed of a dearth of impulse control, had his career systematically dismantled at what seemed almost like one of Drake's whims. To those involved with the pharmaceutical and biomedical labs, it was obvious Eddie had gotten a little too close to the truth and been quickly and thoroughly eliminated as a threat.

In the second, Eddie was one of any number of otherwise serious journalists who'd played as one of Drake's many mouthpieces. It was little wonder Dora dismissed him from consideration. What would he do, write another puff piece about the sacrifices of progress and how the next rocket's launch would go better?

No matter the universe, Dora Skirth's ethics made her a problem. She brought in a journalist—the best, most moral one she could find—because it was the only action she could think to take and still live with herself. Carlton Drake's crimes needed to be exposed.

But of the two, only the first universe saw the journalist leave the labs alive.

—

The universes were the same up to that one point. Events were already in motion. A being known as Riot made its way to the Life Foundation and met the man responsible for bringing him to Earth ahead of the millions of his fellow symbiotes. Carlton Drake apologized for the deaths of two of Riot's subordinates. 

That was fine, Riot reassured him. More were on their way. They would retrieve them.

Yes, Drake agreed. They would.

—

In vastly different circumstances, but both universes, Riot said, "Venom, get on the rocket."

In the second, Venom complied.

—

Here's something that stayed the same:

Eddie Brock did not marry Anne Weying. They loved each other. More importantly, they _liked_ each other. They wanted to make it work, and they did make it work all the way into an engagement.

In one universe, there was a ring returned at the end of a betrayal, the fallout of Eddie's actions landing on everyone around him. There were hard feelings, bitterness and hurt and the sensation of legs swept out from under their feet. There was love, too, but also the instant and permanent decision that they were done.

In the other, there was a slow disentangling of two lives they'd tied together, but couldn't quite make stick. They loved each other. They wanted to make it work. But they didn't pick a date, and five months after an interview that could've been much more disastrous than it was, Anne said, "Maybe we shouldn't get married."

They were sitting on the couch, Anne's head on Eddie's shoulder, but there was a distance there they couldn't quite breach. Anne was crying, quiet, and Eddie only knew because he felt the damp spot of a tear soaking through the thin cotton of the shirt he'd planned to wear to bed. Eddie's throat was tight, his mouth was dry, and he was having a little trouble seeing himself.

But he had to agree, had been thinking it himself. "Maybe we shouldn't."

By the time Eddie was assigned to cover the mental breakdown and subsequent mysterious disappearance of space tech icon and biotech pioneer Carlton Drake—not that mysterious, considering the last time he'd been seen, he'd been in the process of flying off in his own rocket, which had not been engineered to be piloted alone—Eddie had moved out and settled into being the nightmare of new boyfriends everywhere, the sort of ex who still got together every other Friday to reminisce and catch up on their individual lives. They hadn't been able to make the engagement work, but Eddie and Anne’s friendship was still going strong.

—

Fast forward a few months:

In one universe, Eddie was typing up a few notes on his phone while Venom auto-piloted them home and digested a bad guy's head, trying to focus more on figuring out the connections in this missing persons case than the distant thought, _Why is it always the heads_?

In the other, Eddie had the TV on in his apartment for a little white noise while he tried to make dinner, already half-resigned to throwing it all out and ordering takeout to go with the nice bottle of red wine chilling in his refrigerator. It was a special occasion. Anne was coming over soon and she was bringing her new boyfriend, some guy named Dan who sounded levels above the last three—and that included Eddie himself.

In the background, there was breaking news: satellites had caught sight of an object headed straight for Earth. Preliminary images indicated it was the missing Life Foundation shuttle. Projections indicated it would be here soon. 

Very soon.

—

**Author's Note:**

> Not shown: All the universes where Eddie wasn't the sort of jerk to steal information off his fiancee's computer without her permission, but still went hard during the Drake interview, still got fired, and still ended up in a relationship with a pile of sentient alien goo who helped him save the world.


End file.
